Mountain degu
Octodontomys gliroides (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844)
The mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides) is a species in the family Octodontidae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 150 g to 155.8 g and live up to 7.33 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the mountain degu
- Weight
- 150 g – 155.8 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 7.33 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 7.57 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 104 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2.04src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- At dawn and dusk (crepuscular)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the mountain degu live?
Not recorded
What is the mountain degu?
The mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides), also known as the Andean degu, is a species of rodent in the family Octodontidae. It is the only species in the genus Octodontomys. It is a medium-sized rodent with long, silky grey-brown fur, large grey ears, and white-furred chin and underparts. It is found in the foothills of the Andes in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, and closely resembles the mountain viscacha rat and viscacha rats in the genus Tympanoctomys, all of which are found in Argentina. It is an herbivore, and eats grasses, leaves, bark, and cacti. The mountain degu gets most of its water from eating the tissues of prickly pear cactuses and cactuses in the genus Cereus.
The mountain degu is a social animal, though not as much as the related common degu, and lives in family units of two to four individuals that share a burrow, play together, and take dust baths in turn with each other. Mountain degus have no special ability to dig with their claws, and their burrows are often short. They often make their homes in caves and under rocks. Members of a social group communicate through gurgles, twitters and squeaks. The mountain degu's closest relatives are the rodents in the genera Octodon, Spalacopus, and Aconaemys.
Mountain degus have little impact on human society. They are a potential carrier of the parasitic species Trypanosoma cruzi, which can cause Chagas disease in humans. They are also host to fleas and lice. The mountain degu population is not threatened by anything, and it can be found in some protected areas, leading the International Union for Conservation of Nature to classify it as a least-concern species.
From the Wikipedia article “Mountain degu” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_degu&oldid=1370365290), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mountain degu endangered?
The mountain degu is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the mountain degu classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyOctodontidae
- genusOctodontomys
- SpeciesOctodontomys gliroides (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844)
Synonyms Neoctodon simonsi, Octodon gliroides, Octodontomys simonsi
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- ChozchozEnglish
- داغي جبليArabic
- osmák plchovitýCzech
- Rata cola de pincelSpanish
- tsostsosFinnish
- フサオデグーJapanese
- FjelldegusNorwegian Bokmål
- BoriDutch
- koszatnik pilchowatyPolish
- Соневидный восьмизубRussian
Relatives of the mountain degu
Other species in the same family Octodontidae.
Common degu
Octodon degus
Coruro
Spalacopus cyanus
Chilean rock rat
Aconaemys fuscus
Mountain viscacha rat
Octomys mimax
Plains viscacha rat
Tympanoctomys barrerae
Sage's rock rat
Aconaemys sagei
CompareMountain degu vs Common deguMountain degu vs CoruroMountain degu vs Chilean rock ratMountain degu vs Mountain viscacha rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mountain degu?
An adult mountain degu weighs 150 g – 155.8 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mountain degu endangered?
The mountain degu is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the mountain degu live?
The mountain degu has a recorded lifespan of 7.33 years.
How long is the mountain degu pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 104 days.
What kind of animal is the mountain degu?
The mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides) belongs to the family Octodontidae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-degu
“Mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-degu.
@misc{mountain_degu_2026,
title = {Mountain degu (Octodontomys gliroides)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-degu},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}